Preparing The Place

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."  John 14:1-2

The time for His ascension drew close and Jesus began to prepare His disciples and us for the separation soon to take place. We have some of those in this life, and it is not unusual for the departing to say a few words at that time. Often it will be about taking care of your mother, or the other siblings, or even the family business. Jesus did those things too, but He also had some rather startling promises and this scripture today is one of them. A place for you? Now sure, if a person was blessed with a particularly obnoxious old man, then he might at his passing promise to meet us in a place that we have reason to dread and call us some crude anatomical name as well. We might resolve to never meet the old screw again and look for a different sort of promise of the afterlife. Jesus introduced the disciples to a house of many mansions belonging to His Father. And that sounds like a much better and more welcoming place to see after our passing! But, like those disciples seated around our Lord receiving instruction, we might have some trouble believing the promise. Jesus sent His Spirit to help us with that, He went to prepare those places. 

Let us rejoice in the rejoining to come when we meet Jesus and see the place He has prepared! Amen.

Bucky

What's Up With Those Prophets?

But it happened that night that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,  (2 Samuel 7:4)

What's up with all of those prophets who said that a certain head of state would be elected to a second term in 2020? This comes up once again because I purchased another book on the coming end of the age, hoping for some new insight or a greater understanding of the revelation, and it begins in the introduction with that same prediction for last year's election. How do I believe anything the writer and false prophet has to communicate to me after that? Many false prophets were exposed by this past election. The word of the Lord did not come to them in the night. 

But, but... voter fraud, election rigging, cheating? What about those things? The word of the Lord would not be fooled by the things which might trip up any of us. If such things happened in this election, the word of the Lord coming from God the omniscient One would still have passed on to us the name of the leader to be elected, and it would be the correct one. That is, if God had sent His word by His prophets. It would seem that the Lord did not send His word to a bunch of folks who said to us, "I know who..." Do you want to be a foretelling prophet of the Lord? Wait on His word, or be embarrassed in the public media as these others were recently. 

As for me, it is time to return to the Word of the Lord as found in the Revelation, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and many others, for my education in what is to come. 

Love in Christ the Lord!

Bucky

The Time Comes, Watch For It!

"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."  Matthew 25:13

The time has come and the judgment is upon them. The five virgins are in and the other five are locked outside. No wonder, the world says in outrage, for the five virgins did not share with their sisters as your teacher commanded them to do in various places in that holy text you use! Where was their love that you preach? 

Now the five wise virgins are to blame for the five foolish virgins not being ready when the time arrived? 

That is the way of the world. When it is to their advantage it is necessary, even right, for the wise to join the foolish outside the closed doors and all ten must then be locked out. Nevermind that the five foolish ones could have asked well before the bridegroom arrived, after all there was a time when all ten fell asleep waiting, but to them it is the responsibility of the wise ones to cut their readiness in half at the demand of the foolish ones. 

However, the wise virgins do not attempt to split their oil in the vessels, for the sudden demand of the foolish ones may not even be possible. And as we have come to conclude that this oil in the vessels is the life of Christ given to each one He has saved by His grace through faith in Him alone, we can see that it is not for the wise virgins to split up and parcel out. Five virgins were ready, and five were not when that time came to pass and the doors to the wedding drew to a close. 

Wisdom and readiness come from our Lord Jesus, let us come to Him to be made ready. 

Bucky

All The Ten Virgins

 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish."  Matthew 25:1-2

All the ten virgins had lamps and all the ten virgins slumbered and slept while the bridegroom was delayed. The separation of five from five is noted in the second verse, but it does not say why each is wise or foolish. Soon, we read that it is the actions of the five foolish ones that shed light on their failure. There is no cause in the parable to say that the five were foolish because they were women. The five wise would speak against that if even once in this parable Jesus had used her, she, female, girl, or woman. Virgin is known to be a young, unmarried woman in the time of our Lord, else we could easily read the parable as being that of ten men. It is almost like our Lord knew the sexist rhetoric of our time would come when it did. Of course He did! The parable is about all of us, woman or man, boy or girl, and so there is a resounding no or nay to the pig oinking for us on this day. The question we need is not about the sex of the virgins, but about that oil.

If it is not our accomplishments or education, what is it that the five wise virgins had in their lamps and vessels that the foolish ones had in their lamps but did not carry in their vessels? The parable of our Lord shows that this thing is obtainable, else why would the five foolish ones return to the closed door, and that all ten virgins started out with it in their lamps. The oil must be life, and the extra vessels are the choice we are allowed to make to fill or not fill them while the lamp of life we are given is still burning. The closed door to the wedding is that time when the choosing has passed and no more are allowed in. It would seem that purchasing this extra quantity of life is no good either, as the bridegroom in the tale does not know the five foolish ones even with their vessels filled from the purchasing place. We live in a time when we can easily understand this purchasing of extra life, the rich are trying in all manner of ways, but from the parable we can also see that this is a worthless action. The extra oil in the vessels of the wise virgins must be that life that only Christ our Lord can give through His grace that we receive by His salvation. 

Tomorrow, the unbelieving world will accuse the five wise virgins of selfishness for refusing to share that oil in their vessels. 

To the grace and joy of Christ Jesus, we say "Amen!"

Bucky

The Door Was Shut

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.  Matthew 25:10

Monday morning we left those five foolish virgins out in the world preparing their accomplishments for the wedding. The oil of self-improvement was lapping at the top of their containers when they approached the door of the hall to the wedding feast. However, the door was shut and with a lamp in one hand and a full container in the other, they could by no means open the door for themselves. Such accomplished virgins too, how is it they could not open that particular door when they had already broken down doors and glass ceilings? 

Monday was all about distraction. It was a story of smoke and fluff designed to show the potential for confusion we face in this world. The distractions of the world claim many even as we read this, hopefully shorter bit, on this fine morning. Jesus told us in His great sermon to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. But we, raised in the fallen world on the cursed earth, go out first to make a living for ourselves, get educated, experience the pleasures the world offers while we are young, and other distractions. In time we grow a little older and begin to seek for more fulfillment, and then comes the great self-improvement phase. All this time the door to the wedding feast is closing. Why are five ready and five not ready? What is this oil the five foolish ones must go out to purchase, and can it really be bought for money?

I think that is why the five virgins are foolish, not because they were foolish from birth or because of their hair color, but because they were well versed in the foolishness of the world and they were not ready. Jesus spoke of the end times in His Olivet Discourse, and in the end there will be those who are selling salvation. The five wise virgins were ready and had nothing to do with the peddlers of salvation oil. The five foolish ones could not see the difference between the light of Christ in the lamps of the wise ones and the stuff sold on the soul market in the evil city. As the foolish ones were out making their purchase, the five prepared virgins went into the wedding and became bridesmaids.  The five foolish virgins were left outside the closed door, and even the bridegroom did not recognize them when they called, "Lord, Lord!" 

So, is the male pig about to give a great 'oink!'? Are we to be against virgins and careers? Once again we are already long enough for today. Write you on the morrow! 

Love in Christ,
Bucky

Five Foolish Virgins: A Tale of Great Accomplishments

Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,  Matthew 25:2-3

The five foolish virgins rushed out to purchase oil for their lamps: 

The first virgin learned to design and build. Great buildings and monuments she built from the ground up to her own plans and designs. Skyscrapers and office buildings, apartment towers and houses, administration buildings and factories; all built and accomplished at her command and with her skill. Monuments of cement and steel rose up to bear her name before the heavens. Surely now, said she, the Bridegroom and His new bride will come to me for a palace to live in, and they will invite me to the wedding feast to tell me of their needs for the future. And I will take those wishes of theirs and make such a palace as has never been seen on the Earth! 

The second virgin saw the buildings going up and resolved to fill them with machines to make living and working in them easier, and to make transports to go between them quickly. She set out to learn engineering and manufacturing, and to make the factories of her sister virgin hum with the production of things. Conveniences and conveyance flooded the world from the skill and energy of this virgin, and the people did honor her name. Surely now, said she also, the Bride and Bridegroom will have need of all these things that I produce to make life easier for mankind, and they will invite me in to the wedding feast to place their orders with me as quickly as possible. 

The third virgin was less worried about things and structures, she set out to gain the finest and most complete education in the land. She learned and studied from the professors in the universities. She discussed and argued with all who would debate with her. Degrees and certifications were added to her name, and soon it was known that the measure of her intelligence and knowledge was second to none in all the land. Indeed her recollection was such that moments of each day of her life could be recalled exactly and played like a recording for any who asked. Smart, they said, surely she was the smartest of all. And, said she to them, the Bride and Bridegroom will call for me to sit at their table and discuss the plans for educating the masses in their new kingdom. 

The fourth virgin saw that all was not to her liking and that it needed to be brought under control. She called for the rulers of the nations and learned from them the ways of power and politics, governance and administration. She studied the ways to gain power by public ways and those done more discreetly behind closed doors. She learned of ways to allow the illusion of meaningful dialogue in the political arena while controlling the outcome of the voting at all times. The Bride and Bridegroom will need me to remain in power, she said to her cronies, and when they become too busy to rule, I will maintain control over all the world for them. My seat will be at the high table in the wedding feast, to show the Bride who is to be trusted with high office and who must be left out. And my last sister virgin will help with that by taxation.

The fifth virgin was indeed ready to help control the land, for she had gone out to learn the ways of money. Finance and accounting, taxation and tariffs, commerce and coinage, were her desires. She saw the ways of power by wealth and how small amounts of it could be used to control the masses. Power, fame, and the enjoyment of having all she wanted appealed greatly to this foolish virgin too. As the wealthiest in the land, the Bride and Bridegroom would be smart to invite me in to their celebration, said she, for I will show them how to buy anything they want as I sit next to them at the feast. 

The tolling of the bell for the wedding feast began. What will happen with these foolish virgins, and why are they foolish? 

It's too much for today, to be continued next time!

Love in Christ,

Bucky

A Suggestion For His Will

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”  Luke 22:42

What does the Father's will have in store for you and me? We answer this along the lines of that corporate question we get at the annual review: Where do you see yourself in five years? Of course seven people in the group of seven know the expected answer and tell the boss that all of them expect to be the CEO of the company in five years. Should a person answer honestly, "In five years I'll still be in the same cubicle, fatter, enjoying the smallest raises the company can get away with while keeping me here, and probably facing some health crisis brought on by the stress of this place." The company rep will be a bit shocked and probably recommend the employee for counseling of a professional nature. We try to answer the Lord's will question in the first way more often than not. 

By now in life many of us have come to know that the Lord is not likely to have tens of thousands of multi-megachurch pastors jamming the television channels and holding stadium revival meetings in every town and on every evening. As those positions bring many earthly rewards, the Lord has ample volunteers to fill those slots. Besides, who would be in the audience if everyone was on the stage? But what if, horror of horrors, the Lord's will for our remaining years is that we grow older, suffer various bodily breakdowns, and eventually end up in a nursing home without a dime to our name? That sounds like what our risen Lord offered to Peter by the Sea of Galilee: 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”   John 21:18

Tradition says one thing about Peter's death, and maybe it is correct. But one can also see a little old man in a rolling chair lifting up his arms to be dressed and wanting to go to breakfast but being taken to physical therapy instead. To a man of work and vigor such as Peter, that may have been the most frightening thing he heard from our Lord! 

Praise the name of our Lord whatever His will holds for us in this life! 

Bucky

The Scripture of Truth

“But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.  Daniel 10:21

A glimpse of a war that we do not see is given to us in Daniel. Here Gabriel the messenger tells of his struggles with the Prince of Persia assisted only by Michael, introduced to Daniel as his prince. In verse 20 it is revealed also that the Prince of Greece will soon come to join in the fight. But, in the midst of this fight, Gabriel is going to tell Daniel what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. Yes, that is what we want, the Scripture of Truth! How do we get a hold of that? I would start with the man who told His disciples that He is the way, the truth, and the life. The Son of Man who spoke those words would be the source of the Scripture of Truth. His words would be that Scripture of Truth! 

When we read the words of Gabriel, we do not need to fear that we have somehow missed out on something. The scripture mentioned by the angel must be the words of our Lord Jesus or He could not call Himself the Truth and be truthful if there were some Scripture of Truth that He did not have. But, you might ask, what if there is more than one truth? We do not even want to contemplate the chaos coming for us if there is more than one truth, one way, and one life. 

Thank You, dear Lord Jesus, that You are the Truth we need!

Bucky

Steadfast Faith in the Tough Times

But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation.  Jeremiah 44:18

On the surface, it would seem that the "Queen of Heaven" sounds good as a title. We might even wonder a bit before we take off for a search of the scriptures. Does God ever introduce Himself to anyone using this title? He doesn't? Big red warning flag! And then there is the problem of saying that because we stopped doing this, the other thing happened, and therefore the other thing is caused by not doing this. As they like to say in higher education, "It ain't necessarily so!"

One of the more difficult tests of our faith comes in those tough times. Those periods of life when we don't have plenty or even the bare necessities. Separations, whether from war or the myriad of other reasons humans die in this world, are also a severe test of our steadfast faith in God. And as wars often cause great shortages, we may face both tests at the same time. Steadfast faith in the tough times shines the light of Jesus into the darkness of the world. 

Rejoice in faith,

Bucky

Near The Boundary

The LORD will destroy the house of the proud,
But He will establish the boundary of the widow. Proverbs 15:25

We are living near a boundary this morning. For those of you whose homes are just a little distance north or west of our small town in the northeast corner of Colorado: scenes of closed highways, stuck vehicles, large snowdrifts, and a blizzard. For us here: wet, rain, cloudy, and a hint of early spring. Some weather boundary is close by but between us. Indeed many of us believe we live near another boundary, that of the great biblical prophecies of the end. Those times that were in the distant future for Daniel or Peter, but so close to us that we see a movement toward the Tribulation in world events. On this side of the boundary, hints of signs to come and daily faith in Christ. Cross that boundary though, and the judgments of the Revelation will be seen daily; no room for faith when the thing occurs right in front of the person. Yesterday, we here watched the rain all day and we believed those who spoke of snow, drifts, and blizzard. And that is our faith in Christ. He says this and that will happen in His Revelation, and our faith says, "We believe You, Lord!" 

Amen. Come Lord Jesus!

Bucky

A Dog Not Bark?

But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. Exodus 11:7

That is amazing. If you have ever tried to walk around a sleeping dog early in the morning when things are so quiet... that's nothing. You may have even managed it a time or two. This night was the Passover, and a great cry was going to go up from Egypt just after midnight, "such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again." (v6). That cry would certainly set all the dogs to barking, but not in Israel. We know that dogs love to bark and have no conception of anything like zero-dark thirty except as a really spiffy time to bark their fool heads off. In fact, the middle of the day, they think, is a great time for them to bark too, and it does not have to be at anything in particular. A passing cloud shadow can set a dog off just as well as a 400-lb squirrel attempting to sneak into the garage at 3:00 am. And yet, here the Lord promises that not one dog will bark at the children of Israel or their beasts. One might think it only for that night of the Passover, but probably the Lord was going to show this most plainly when the multitude of Israel walked out that next day past the houses of the Egyptians while not one dog would bark at them. A dog not bark? Incredible! 

Love the power of the Lord!

Bucky

Demand The Lowest Place

 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  Luke 14:10

Humility seems to be a slippery rascal among those things we are to develop as part of our Christian character. In our verse for today, if you or I have the social status or personal authority to demand the lowest place at the feast, then we have missed the point of our Lord's words. Our Lord, as you can well read, said to simply sit down in the lowest place without demand or thought of everyone seeing you making yourself humble. If a person attempts to attain humility, and then proclaims her accomplishments in that endeavor, she has likely attained only pride. Easily might most of us say that we are proud of our humility! 

Therefore we go to the wedding feast and sit in the lowest place to practice our humility, all the while hoping that everyone will notice that we are practicing our humility. Dang, missed the point again! Well keep on practicing until our Lord's lovely Spirit brings you and me to humility. Jesus gave us lots of things to practice because we are just naturally bad at them. Love, giving, joy, faith, peace, and of course humility, among many others must be practiced in order for us to grow closer to our Lord's standard. 

And always, as Paul tells us, remember that He who began this work in us will finish it!

Bucky

In The Last Days

He saw that rest was good,
And that the land was pleasant;
He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden,
And became a band of slaves.  Genesis 49:15

Jacob gathered his sons together and told them what would befall them in the last days. I didn't make that up, it says so in verse 1 of the chapter in which our verse for today resides. Issachar likely did not get a thrill over the prophecy laid upon him by dear old Dad. Living in the last days in a pleasant land sounds just fine, but that band of slaves bit is not so pleasant to anyone's hearing. Of course the verse preceding talks about the strong donkey lying down between two burdens. Could it be a warning to keep on with our work until the end lest we become enslaved to rest in a pleasant place? Resting from work is necessary; resting all the time when work is on both sides, not so good. 

Rejoice in the Lord's work!

Bucky

Written By A Doctor, But Spoken By A Healer

 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Luke 12:22-23

The book of Luke in the Bible is interesting in several ways, one being that it was not written by one of the children of Israel. It is thought that Mary was a primary source and it has the last mention in our Lord's life of Joseph, His earthly father. Like the other gospels, Luke does not answer that mystery of what happened to Joseph after that incident where our Lord Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem. Perhaps it is a comfort to those with absent fathers in this age, but Joseph did pull off one of the great disappearing acts of the Bible. Luke does contain some fantastic events surrounding our Lord's birth, and like the others does have an in-depth account of our Lord's death and resurrection. We also find in Luke that great treasure of our Lord's actual spoken words. Common to all four gospels, this treasure is the words of life as heard in our Lord's sermons and parables as He walked Israel trying to save His hard-hearted people before they killed him, or worse, forced Him to be king. The gospel also has tales of the Lord's healing, which must have been a wonder to Luke the physician as he heard about, or perhaps saw for himself, a healer at work. 

Read a bit of Luke today, and rejoice in the Lord!

Bucky

Glad To Know It

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. James 5:7

Taxes in the evening, bad news from afar, a bill to pay this morning, prayers for the new special need and for all the usual needs, and the world turns around once more. I haven't used many verses from James that I can recall, but here is one about the patience we need to go day by day with the trials and sorrows of a day walking with Christ our Lord. 

While there are many farming content providers on YouTube, I can only follow 4 or 5 of them before I'm spending too much time sitting in front of the screen. The methods have changed on the surface from the days when our Lord Jesus told His parables to the multitudes, but they are also basically the same. Clear the land, till the land, plant the seeds, a little weeding when possible, but then wait. Irrigation systems have been tried since way back when, but the best watering method for the crops is still God's provision of rain, and then more waiting. A farmer waits many more days than he or she plants. And then, harvest, and long days with as much rushing as things can be rushed in farming to get the crop into the barn. Farming with its period of waiting between planting and harvest remains one of our best metaphors for the age we are in now. Day by day we wait upon the return of our Lord Jesus. And at times it is not easy at all to wait on the Lord. 

Faith in Christ is our answer. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, including waiting! 

Love in Christ,
Bucky

Thrown Into The Sea

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying:

“I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
Exodus 15:1 

A moment of happy celebration directed to and sung to the Lord our God. Surely this moment and the memory of the Lord's triumph would sustain the people through much adversity, right? Three days. Same chapter, verse 24 begins, "And the people complained against Moses..." That's it? Three days? That speaks to our condition rather eloquently it seems. How quickly we forget the Lord's triumphs for us in the light of our present distress. "What shall we drink?" The complaint went up against the Lord's servant a mere three days after the crossing of the Red Sea. How easily we complain against the Lord and His chosen messengers in any age of fallen man. Changing us from that sort of behavior to absolute trust and faith in our Lord is the work of His Holy Spirit in us. And even we can see from this what a lengthy and difficult journey that must be as the Spirit guides us through this life of tribulation and trial. 

It is interesting to note that a few years later the Lord chose an accomplished groaner from among His people to bring the light of the Lord to the people of Nineveh. This groaner would have to be thrown into the sea himself before he made the turn around in life that sent him on the way to his mission assignment. 

Praise to the Lord our God as we walk toward His blessed sanctification! 

Bucky

Israel's Bad Day

And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you as bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah. Deuteronomy 1:44

Israel had from the Lord several military victories, and they might have expected the same in this case but for one thing: the Lord told them that He was not among them. This was not their day for a victory and a definite 'don't go' sort of day. And yet, they disobeyed the Lord and received a mad chase in the wrong direction getting 'stung' all the way.  Israel had a bad day and some paid for it with their lives. 

Military historians tell us that most casualties in those ancient battles came from a rout. One army or the other would break or lose their nerve, and suddenly the backs of one army would be to the spears of the other and many would die. Israel suffered this sort of thing whenever they went into battle without the Lord. We might easily recall a time when victory seemed certain for us in a challenge or difficulty in life, and yet there was a sudden defeat, an inexplicable rout. Could it be that we did not wait on the Lord? Perhaps victory that time appeared so undeniable that we didn't even pray before facing that test? As Paul tells us, we will face powers and principalities of this present darkness, and without the Lord defeat is certain. 

Let us pray for one another in this day,

Bucky

What Is This Spirit?

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.  Revelation 22:17

There are spirits of jealousy, sullenness, ill-will, lying, and that disturbing spirit God gave to Saul. There was a spirit that passed by Eliphaz in Job and made the hair on his body stand up. There is also the spirit of wisdom, a contrite spirit,  a generous spirit, a spirit of understanding, and a spirit in which there is no deceit. But over all and above all there is the Spirit of God. From Genesis 1:2 to Revelation 22:17 in hundreds of verses we find the Spirit of God in action. The Spirit is important to His story, and so is the spirit within us. What a great gift our Lord Jesus gave to us when He gave His Spirit to be in us with our spirit. Through our Lord's Spirit come the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. What is this Spirit? The Spirit is the very life of Christ in us! 

Have a great Monday in Christ the Lord!

Bucky